Kaua‘i-based documentary filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo is in the process of raising funds to produce her 10th documentary, which will focus on the life of jazz musician Thomas Chapin. In order to begin shooting the film this summer, Castillo must
Kaua‘i-based documentary filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo is in the process of raising funds to produce her 10th documentary, which will focus on the life of jazz musician Thomas Chapin. In order to begin shooting the film this summer, Castillo must raise her goal of $50,000 by March 30. For more information or to make a donation visit the website www.thomaschapinfilm.com.
First, tell The Garden Island a little about yourself. Where are you originally from? How long have you been making films?
Stephanie Castillo: I was born in Honolulu in 1948. My father Wallace Castillo was from Kapahi, Kaua‘i. His father and mother had immigrated from the Philippines. So I am third generation Filipino from Kapa‘a.
I was a newspaper reporter with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for five years starting in 1984. I really wanted to make documentary films, so in 1989 I left the paper to begin making my first documentary with Hawai‘i Public Television. Five years later, after raising $500,000, I finished the Emmy-winning film “SIMPLE COURAGE,” about Hawai‘i’s banishment of 8,000 leprosy sufferers and Father Damien’s intervention. This new film will be my 10th documentary.
Please, talk a little bit about Thomas Chapin, the subject of your current project and a man you knew personally.
SC: Thomas Chapin was my friend and brother-in-law. I began following his music career when my sister Terri, who later became his wife, told me to, “Watch him — he’s an original and will be in the jazz history books one day.” As he rose to prominence in the downtown New York City scene and on the big jazz stages around the world, I had a chance to showcase him and his trio in Honolulu in 1993. I produced a short video for PBS Hawai‘i of the Thomas Chapin Trio performing at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Sadly, he passed away from leukemia five years later at age 40.
How would you describe his story?
SC: Thomas emerged in the 1980s in New York City’s downtown music scene with a highly original style. He had performed with Lionel Hampton’s big band for six years as lead alto sax and was said to have “monstrous chops.” By the 1990s, he was considered a virtuoso and was described as “full of incredible energy, pushing the needle, never letting up.” Critics said he was “moving the music forward.” Thomas moved easily between the avant-garde and straight-ahead jazz communities. He had a wildly attractive personality and as a recovering alcoholic had moved to a spiritual life that led him to create what some have described as spiritual jazz.
If enough money comes in, where will the documentary be filmed?
SC: In New York City where Thomas played jazz scenes; in New Jersey where Thomas studied jazz at Rutgers University; in the Greater Hartford, Conn. area, where he grew up and played at small jazz clubs and jazz festivals; at Andover, Mass. where he went to prep school and discovered jazz; and in Europe where Thomas played on the big stages of jazz. Also Rhode Island, where he played the famous Newport Jazz Festival, and in Providence, where Thomas passed away. Maybe even Kaua‘i, where he once visited family and made an instrument out of some kukui nuts in the waters near the Russian Fort.
I understand you are nearing the end of a global fundraising effort in order to begin shooting the film. How is it going?
SC: We are far from our goal and running out of time! Our effort will end on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. This campaign is at kickstarter.com, an online site where artists can make their creative dreams come true. It uses social networking to find supporters. My goal is to raise $50,000 to shoot my film this summer. We have a team of people pulling together to find more supporters, more pledges in these final days at Kickstarter. We are looking for 100 people to pledge $100 each to help us. Come on Kaua‘i, help this local girl make her film! The big push is on!
Your previous films have focused on a wide variety of topics and people, from AIDS to St. Damien — who worked among Hawai‘i’s leprosy victims — and even your own mother. How do you go about choosing a subject for your films?
SC: I am drawn to stories that I think are not only good stories, but ones that will speak important truths about us and our humanity. I am a Christian, an Episcopalian, but I never preach in my film, though in my films you will find spiritual messages about love, tolerance, courage, compassion and other values that are important to us all. I like to think that through my films I speak the heart and concerns that we all have as fellow humans and fellow creatures made in God’s image, who desire to live lovingly on this earth.
What are some of the biggest challenges in making a film like this? How much time does a project like this take from start to finish?
SC: The biggest challenge is always how to fund them. Though we all love the arts, there’s a lot competing for our dollars. In my 25 years of fundraising for my films and the films of others, I’ve raised more than $2 million. Still, it’s always a lot of work finding the money. But I keep believing there are angels out there looking to back important art projects. My films have taken between five and eight years to complete. I am trying to finish this one by end of next year, and not let it drag out.
What message do you have for aspiring filmmakers out there?
SC: Think outside the box, be creative in everything you do, including how you raise the money for your films. I’ve made two films for $5,000 each. Friends and family will help if you ask. Most important, find good and great stories to tell. They’re in your backyards waiting to be seen. Make films about what you know and love. As I tell my students when I teach, filmmaking is about obstacles and overcoming them. So you’d better find stories you are passionate to tell, or you will be stopped by obstacles. Passion will drive you forward to completion!
